An Interview With Kateryna Vitkovska

 

Welcome to my artist interview series, Kateryna Vitkovska! I'm so excited to have you here, and I can't wait to learn more about your artistic journey and what inspires you. The goal of these interviews is to provide a platform for artists to share their stories and experiences, in the hopes of inspiring others to embrace their creativity and pursue their passions.

First,  I'd love to hear a bit about you and what makes you, well, you! Care to share some fun facts about yourself, or maybe something interesting that most people don't know about you?

just a few facts about me, I'm 31 years old, I have a beloved husband and 3 cats. I love art, video games and travel and I am a workaholic :D

I'm curious to know what first sparked your interest in art and made you want to pursue it as a career. Was there a particular moment or experience that made you realize that art was something you wanted to pursue?

I have been drawing since childhood, and I remember when I was 6 years old, my favorite movie was The Little Mermaid from Disney and I really tried to draw it in Paint :D these were my first digital drawings. Unfortunately, my parents were not very supportive of my desires to be an artist (because it is “not a real job”), now I understand that this was wrong. Therefore, I received a higher education in biology (not at all in art) and worked in a laboratory for several years. But fortunately, I left there and started freelancing, first as a graphic designer and then doing art (as a hobby, and then it became my job) and now I understand that this is what I want to do.

Can you tell me about a time when something happened that completely changed the course of your artistic journey? Maybe it was something unexpected, or maybe it was a gradual realization. Either way, I'd love to hear all about it.

Like many artists, at first I only painted beautiful girls (this was my comfort zone). But since I love video games and sometimes when you play and see this world in front of you, which you want to explore and perhaps build something of your own - I realized that I want to draw the environment and landscapes. This helped me become an artist who mostly draws environments, not just characters.

As an artist, I'm sure you've faced some struggles and challenges along the way. Those experiences have probably impacted your work in some way. Can you share a bit about those challenges and how they've influenced your artistic process?

Since I am a freelancer, I can never be sure of my income, and it seems to me that now is a difficult period and it is associated with the development of artificial intelligence for generating pictures. I understand that most people don't understand how much this negatively affects artists, and that we are losing jobs because of it. But I want to believe that I will still be able to do this (as a job) in the future.

It's often said that artists put a bit of themselves into their work. I'd love to hear about your personal connection to your art. Do you draw from personal experiences, feelings, or ideas when you create your work? How does your art reflect your own life?

Fortunately, no, my life is not reflected in my works at all, rather the opposite. I didn’t have an easy childhood and drawing has always been a way to escape reality, perhaps that’s why I like to draw fantasy and things that are not connected with reality. Now I’m happy with my life, but the habit of drawing a fairy tale still remains with me and I think that’s good!

You've probably had some profound or meaningful experiences that have impacted the way you approach your art. Could you tell me about any experiences that have shaped the way you express yourself through art?

As I already said, I love video games and my first favorite game is The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and like many teenagers I could play this game all day. Plus I loved reading fantasy books. When you are surrounded by such things, you really want to express yourself and show what is in your imagination. It also seems to me that social networks greatly influence what I draw lately. I love to draw, but I also love to share my art, I love to receive some kind of feedback, even if it’s criticism - it’s good, it allows me to grow and improve.

For many artists, art isn't just a career, it's a way of life. It can be a form of self-expression, a source of joy and fulfillment, and a way to connect with others. In what ways does art impact your life beyond being a career? Can you share some examples of how it enriches your life?

I like to draw for myself, it is a kind of therapy for me. As a child it was a way to escape from reality, now it is a way to relax. Sometimes when I don't draw for several days I feel a certain dissatisfaction with my life, I don't know why. We live in quite alarming times and perhaps drawing for me is a way to let my body know that I am in control of my life and no matter what is happening around me.

Feedback sometimes can be hard to take, especially when it's about something you've created with passion and hard work. How do you approach feedback and criticism about your work? Do you find it helpful, or is it sometimes difficult to hear? I'd love to know how you handle it.

I don't mind criticism and sometimes I can agree with it, because you can't always see some mistakes. Criticism is not bad. But what upsets me most is that some people think that the drawing was generated by artificial intelligence, this is such a huge devaluation of the whole work. Because of this, I try to post drawing processes on the Internet often.

Pursuing an artistic career is often not an easy path. It can involve a lot of hard work and sacrifices. What kinds of sacrifices have you made to pursue your artistic dreams? I'd love to know more about the journey you've taken and the challenges you've overcome.

My main victim now is my vision, when you are at the computer or at the canvas all day - your eyes get very tired. I want to have laser correction, but this needs to be planned because after it you cant normal work at the computer for at least a month. Other than that, I don’t think I’m sacrificing anything yet :)

There are many stereotypes about what it's like to be an artist. Some people might think that artists have a carefree, bohemian lifestyle, or that they're always starving for money or recognition. How would you address those misconceptions and give people a more accurate understanding of what it's like to be an artist?

Unfortunately, my parents are victims of such stereotypes. They always believed that artists are poor people who paint portraits on the street for pennies. That's why they always told me that drawing is not something serious. And even a friend of mine asked me a few years ago if I was planning to find a real job. This makes me laugh a little :) Perhaps it was like this before, that the life of an artist is not easy, but now in the era of the Internet everything is much simpler, you can work with clients all over the world and it’s amazing.

Creative blocks can happen to anyone. If you've ever experienced a creative block, can you tell me about your experience and how you dealt with it? I'm sure other artists would love to hear about your process for overcoming creative blocks.

I have never experienced an art block, perhaps this awaits me ahead. But usually it’s enough for me to spend half an hour on Pinterest to make me want to draw something.

It can be hard to balance the need to create art that's true to your vision while also meeting the expectations of clients or an audience. Can you tell me about your own experience with this balancing act? How do you manage to stay authentic while also satisfying the needs of others?

This is difficult, usually I try to draw everything as the client asks, even if I don’t really like the result, but the client likes it. This is quite fair, because the client pays me money. I leave my vision for my own projects. As for the audience, perhaps here I sometimes find myself in a kind of trap. My audience loves fantasy landscapes, but sometimes I want to draw characters and when I post drawings with characters on the Internet, to my regret, the audience doesn’t really like it. Then I leave these drawings only for myself :)

Artists often have meaningful interactions with the people who view and appreciate their work. Can you tell me about any interactions that have stuck with you over the years? What impact do you hope your art has on the people who experience it?

I think my art makes people want to get inside the drawing. They wrote to me about this many times. Usually I draw a composition with some small character from the back, so we see the world through his eyes and this allows us to imagine that we are this character and that some kind of fantasy adventure awaits us.

There are so many young and emerging artists who are seeking guidance and inspiration. What advice would you offer to them, based on your own experiences and journey as an artist? What are the most important lessons you've learned?

practice more. This is the most common advice I know, but it helped me a lot. When I started drawing some simple drawings every day (at least 40 minutes), it helped me reach a new level.

If anyone is interested in seeing your work, where can they find it? I'm sure many people would love to see more of your work!

Mostly instagram - @vitkovskaya_art , or my website - vitkovskaya.art , or Artstation :)

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